Artificial stone facing plaque



July 9, 1963 A. R. wElR ARTIFICIAL STONE: FACING PLAQUE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1959 July 9, 1963 A. R. WEIR 3,097,080

ARTIFICIAL STONE FACING PLAQUE Filed June 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR..

A@ A Trams/5K United States Patent O 3,697,080 ARTIFlClAL SIGNE FACING PLAQUE Arthur R. Weir, 2915 Wexhridge Road, Shaker Heights Ztl, Ohio File-d .lune 29, 1959, Ser. No. 823,626 1 Claim. (Cl. Lil- 35) This invention relates t-o artificial stone facing plaques and particularly to `a new and improved artificial stone facing plaque which is adapted for both interior and exterior use, such as for walls, ceilings, floors, roofs and the like.

This application is a continuation-impart of my Copending application Serial No. 810,475, tiled May l, 1959, now abandoned.

More particularly, the present plaque is lone which is relatively thin and light in weight, yet is strong with a high resistance to fracture. The plaque is sufciently flexible so that it can be bent `or flexed to fit walls which are somewhat bowed or distorted. Furthermore, the plaque is one which may be made and handled readily in any and all practical commercial sizes desired, and particularly in large sheets.

Specifically, the plaque is one which can be made in limited thickness either in small `or very large size sheets, the thickness remaining constant, if desired, for any particular size. Further, the plaque is one which can be readily fastened to a surface which it is to adorn by means of a `suitable ordinary commercial adhesive alone, the usual ties, anchor bolts, `and the like required for Asecuring the heavier cement or concrete facing plaques and natural stone plaques being unnecessary.

Other advantages of the plaques of the invention are that they have high heat resistant properties, good thermal insulating properties, are substantially waterproof and are, to a high degree, fungicidal in their natural condition. Further, they can be readily installed by unskilled help and can be easily manufactured `by inexpensive equipment.

Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent `from the following examples, wherein reference is made to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is .a perspective view of a form of plaque embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional View taken ron the line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is `a perspective view of a plaque showing a slightly modified arrangement;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective View of another modication of the plaque;

FIG. 6 is a View taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a plaque using heavy and line aggregates;

FiG. 8 is a cross sectional View t-aken fon the line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view `of a form of plaque such as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 but illustrating a dierent finishing operation;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional View taken .on a line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. l1 is a top plan view of a modified form of plaque;

FIG. l2 is -a bottom plan View of the plaque shown in FIG. ll;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 1.3-13 of FIG. l1;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are a top plan view and bottom plan ICC view, respectively, of -another modified form of plaque; and

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 16-16 of FIG. 14.

Referring to the drawings, the plaque comprises essentially a thin body 1, with la decorative upper or forward face 2, and composed of a settable synthetic organic plastic material in which are embedded, at least partially, a plurality of pieces of relatively colarse yaggregate 3. The aggregate is lirmly bonded to the plastic and embedded partway therein in a manner such that the individual pieces of aggregate each has ia substantial portion extending outwardly or upwardly from the forward decorative face 2 of the body l. If desired, the plastic plaque may be bonded to 'a suitable backing strip 4, which may -be formed of `any suitable material such as, for example, asbestos cement board. The backing strip is preferably one which can readily lbe secured by ordinary adhesives to a surface to he covered.

It is often desirable to have the top portion of the individual aggregate 3 partially ground off to form the polished surf-aces 3a, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 aud 4. Preferably, these aggregate surfaces 3a are polished olf so that they lie in a common plate, such plane being spaced from the forward or top face 2 of the plastic body.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, in some instances it is desirable to have the exposed forward or top decorative face of the plaque smooth `and polished. In such instances, the protruding portions of the aggregate and also a portion of the plastic face or surface are ground away so that the final exposed surface 7 of the plaque is slightly below that of the original forward surface of the plastic body 8. In such a plaque, the plastic body 8 has em- 'bedded therein the :aggregate 9, the faces yl() of which are formed to define with the forward face 7 `of the plaque a continuous rand uninterrupted surface which preferably is planar but, if desired, may have a nonaplanar yet regular and continuous pattern of smoothness. In those instances in which the body is to be ground down, the aggregate may originally be fully embedded as well as partially embedded.

Again, in many instances, the aggregate is coarse `and of such size that there are considerable spaces between the individual pieces of :aggregate and it is desired to have these spaces iilled with some form of decorative means. Such a structure is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 wherein the plaque body 12 has embedded therein coarse pieces of aggregate 13 in the manner heretofore described. The spaces therebetween are filled with a filler of finer aggregate, indicated 'at l5', which is bonded to the plastic `body I2. This may be yaccomplished either by `applying the liner aggregate to the body l2 at the same time that the coarse aggregate is applied, at which time the plastic body l2 is in unset or uncured condition, or by applying the coarse aggregate and, before the body has set, applying additional plastic on the top exposed surface of the body and `sprinkling the fine raggregate thereon, or by mixing the additional plastic with the fine aggregate `and applying such mixture to the exposed surface of the body so that all of the lcomponents bond together in a unitary structure. The bonding material for the fine aggregate may be organic synthetic plastic `of the saine type as that used for the body, or of a different type. Also, for .certain effects, it may be inorganic bonding material, such as white Portland cement.

On the other hand, it sometimes is `desirable to have the exposed forward or top decorative face ofthe plaque made of a material different from the rest of the body 12 for purposes of decoration, waterproofing, thermal resistance, soundprooiing and the like. In this instance, the strata forming `the forward exposed face of the plaque 'nay be of a different plastic than the stratum forming the main body 12, but having the special characteristics desired. .In such case, the strata forming .the decorative face and 4the stratum forming the body are bonded together to form 4Va substantially unitary structure in which the stratum blend into each other at their junction. 1 Again, for a highly decorative surface, a plaque, such as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, may be ground down as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and l0, wherein the body, indicated generally at 16, contains both the coarse aggregate 17 `and the fine aggregate 18. Both of the aggregates and a portion of the plastic on the forward or upper exposed face are ground down so that only polished surface areas are exposed fat the forward faces. Usually the aggregate is so closely packed that the only plastic visible is fine lines of plastic between the particles or pieces of aggregate.

A number of plastics may be used. However, the preferred plastic is a polyester alkyd styrene monomer, such being one of the polyester resins which cures at room temperature, 4but does not air cure. Such plastic material is usually in `liquid or viscous state and the setting or curing reaction is started by introducing a catalyst. Once the setting reaction starts, it continues to completionV With'a resultant permanent setting of the plasic, there being a concurrent liberation of heat. Methyl 4ethyl ketone peroxide has been found to be a suitable catalyst. It appears that in the plastics of this character which are thermal setting plastics, the unsaturated molecules react as a result of the introduction of the methyl ethyl ketone peroxide. Other suitable organic thermalsetting resins may be used, such, for example, as epoxy `resins and phenolic resins.

The specific plastic above identified, however, is one -that is readily cast and sets rapidly at room temperature Aand thus lends itself readily to the manufacture of the present artificial stone plaque. Once having set, such plastic will stand an extremely wide range of temperatures.v This particular resin has an elongation of about two percent and, therefore, is to some extent, resilient and flexible so that in sheets of substantial size `it can be bent and Warped readily to a limited extent without fracture or without loosening its bond with the aggregate. Ilf slightly more iiexibility yis desired, such may be obtained by `adding a small amount of a more flexible type of resin.

The aggregate used is dependent upon the effect desired. Generally, the laggregate is of natural stone fragments `of `different selected grades and sizes and colors.

VHowever, other types of aggregates may be used; for example, fragments of glass, whole or crushed shells, fragments of metal, :and other like compositions, may be used. In fact, the choice of aggregate depends upon the appearance and type and quality `of the surface desired before or after grinding, as the case may be. Furthermore, the plastic material may be colored by the addition of pigments `to bring out the desired color relations in the surface thereof.

Since color pigment is expensive, it is introduced only into a thin layer of plastic or cement at the forward face of the plaque body of suiiicient thickness so as not to .be ground away if the plaque is to have a polished surface. Again, if desired, the aforedescribed filler to be used in the spaces between the coarse aggregate, instead of being of plastic of the same or a different type than that used for the body, may be of a Portland cement base ,with fine aggregate disbursed therethrough, such latter filler being readily bonded to the coarse aggregate and to the body and held in place thereby.

It is to be noted that the present artificial stone plaque Imay be made in any size desired, but need not be thick.

The inished'sheet may be ifrorn 1/32 of an inch thick for finer laggregate up to /8 of an inch for the coarser aggregate.V In the latter case, this may include also the backing strip Iwhich preferably is of artificial asbestos cement board or the like, or at least a material which can be readily caused to `adhere to a surface which it is 4 to cover by the usual commercial adhesives such as used for applying ceramic tile, plastic bathroom tile, asbestos flooring, and the like to surfaces` to be covered.

A number `of distinct advantages result from the use of plastic vas the body. For example, in the case of the usual plaster or cement artificial stones or plaques, such stones or plaques must be at least 3A of an inch thick for blocks up to 8 x 8 inches in size and l inch thick for blocks l2 x 12 inches in size. For larger sizes or panels, the cement must be reinforced. lf extremely large aggregate is used, the thickness must be even greater. An example of the .type off plaque employing both coarse and fine aggregate is one in ,which coarse aggregate of preselected colors and ranging from three quarters of an inch to two inches in the largest face dimension and from one-quarter to one and one-half inches in thickness are .bonded to .the body. The body thickness for aggregates of this size, excluding .the backing strip, `is about 3/16 of an inch in thickness and the backing strip, if used, is about the same thickness so that the body is of an inch in thickness. The finer aggregate used ranges from very coarse sand or fine gravel of about 1/16 of an inch diameter `down to very fine sand. The fine aggregate is used to a depth such that the coarse aggregate protrudes above the surface of the fine aggregate. For example, the fine aggregate may be just sufiicient to completely cover and conceal the underlying plastic body.

Furthermore, the cement plaques must be secured to the wall by `suitable mechanical ties in addition to any adhesives used. They are very difficult to install, cannot be warped in .the least to fit any irregularities or bowing in the Wall structure, and require skilled operators for their installation.

Furthermore, such prior cement plaques have extremely low resistance lto fracture and the losses from fracture during manufacture, storage, shipping and installation are extremely high. Again, such prior plaques add greatly to the overall weight of the building, something which is highly undesirable because of the cost involved in constructing the building supporting structure.

The present plaque can be made in a limited thickness, such thickness depending to some extent upon the thickness of the aggregate used and the amount of bond required. However, a maximum thickness of about of an inch can be used for plaques of several feet long and two or three feet wide, such as used for panels.

The particular readily cast polyester plastic, described herein, is desired as it lends itself easily to manufacture of the product. For this purpose, Ia suitable mold having a cavity with a bottom configured to provide the desired contour on the back face of the plaque for ready adhesion and bonding to the wall may be provided. Often the cavity is lined with a paper liner and parting material. The uid plastic is poured into the cavity and spreads to a given depth and the catalyst is added for causing the setting or curing thereof. The aggregates 'are promptly added so that they can sink into the fluid plastic and become thoroughly bonded thereto over the embedded portion. The resulting plastic composition `is permited to conti-nue to react, whereupon the plaque is complete, unless it is desired to have a polished surface. If additional fine aggregate is to be added, it may be added .directly with the coarse aggregate, or it may be mixed with a cement and added before the body sets, or it may be mixed with a different cement and added over the surface of the original plastic after the former has set.

After the complete plaque has set, the surface may be finish ground by using the conventional grinding methods, preferably with a coolant so yas to prevent any deterioration of the plastic or cement. Both the entire surface of combined aggregate and plastic may be ground by the same grinding medi-a.

Each modification of the invention is shown with a backing strip such as the asbestos cement board backing strip 4 shown in FIG. 1; however, such backing strip is not, in all instances, necessary and, in such instances, the plaque is `formed with two exposed decoratve faces, such double-faced plaque now to be described.

Referring next to FIGS. 11 through 13, another modication of the invention is disclosed. In this forni of the invention, there is shown a plaque 2,0 in which the aggregate 21 is partially embedded in the body of the plaque and protrudes from the top or upper face 22 thereof, as shown in FIG. 13. However, the aggregate is spaced slightly vfrom the opposite or bottom yface 23. The surface layer of plastic of the body, commencing tfrom such opposite tface 23 and extending to a point at least partway toward the face 22, is of translucent plastic so that the aggregate 21 embedded .in the tbody can be discerned through the plastic of such opposite face. The thickness of this translucent plastic layer of the opposite face may be varied, depending upon the effect desired, but by spacing the laggregate from the tace and observing it through that face in spaced relation to the surface, very pleasing visual eiects in depth are obtained. With such .a plaque, either of the faces 22 and 23 can be applied to a wall or surface to lbe raced, the other of the two being exposed outwardly. Thus, a double-faced plaque is provided. In FIG. 13, the upper face 22 is show-n .as the face through which the ,aggregate 21 extends and the face 23 is the face from which it is spaced and through which it is discerned. Generally, the .face 23 is the face formed by the inside or bottom surface `of the mold used in the molding method hereinbefore discussed. If desired, the face 23 may be used as a decorative face with its surface that resulting from the moldin-g operation, or it may be polished t0 a high degree in the same manner that marble or other stone is polished if a more highly finished surface is desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 14 through 16, a further moditication is illustrated in which a plaque 25 is shown as formed of a body of translucent or transparent synthetic organic plastic with aggregate 26 embedded therein. In this ,-form, lthe aggregate is embedded entirely within the body of the plastic plaque. Some individual pieces of aggregate are suiciently thick so that part of the surface of each can be discerned readily at both faces. Other particles of the aggregate are arranged -so that they are visible or discernible only at one face. With this plaque, a number of advantages :are obtained, the principal one of which is that the like aggregate can be used to provide plaques of the same general Icolor scheme and the like, but with variegated paterns such that either face of yeach plaque can be :faced outwardly as la decorative face and the other nace bonded to the wall. Thus, each plaque can be rotated to four ldifferent positions about an axis normal to its face with one face exposed forwardly for providing proper continuity of pattern with plaques next to it, or it can be turned to dispose the opposite face forwardly and again rotated to four different positions. Thus, a much greater possibility of obtaining a pleasing correlation between the design of each plaque and those adjacent to it is obtained.

Another ldistinct advantage resides in using the translucent and transparent plastics, in that the plaque ican be laid over sur-faces of diterent colors. With this arrangement, the background colors on the surfaces to which the plaques sare applied are diffused and reflected through the body and exposed surface of the plaques to provide a common background tone or hue which acsthetically binds all of the plaques together. This background Icolor may be obtained by coloring the plaster of the wall, for example, to which the plaque is to be affixed, or by ycoloring the cement by which the plaques are affixed to `a wall surface. Furthermore, by providing designs of variegated color on the background in rough outline, varie-gated effects can be obtained :in the overall appearance of the wall. Ftuther, the thickness or depth of the plastic plaque along with the aggregates reflective colors, tends to soften and diluse any design over which the plaques are laid and thus provide a unique and pleasing appearance.

All of the variations and modifications of color, aggregate size and mixture, pigment, plural layers of plastic, positioning and spacing `and vgrinding of the aggregate laforedescribed with respect to the plaque having the backing strip, apply equally well to the double-faced plaque. Also, each of the decorative or exposed faces of the double-faced plaque is formed `for ready adherence or bonding to the surface of Ia walkway or the wall of a building. In addition, the use 'of a line pearlite aggregate with or without other of the aforementioned aggregates is highly effective.

In all forms of construction above described, there is provided an artificial stone facing plaque that is light in weight, has unusual strength characteristics, and has excellent insulating tand reproong properties in addition to its unique and lelective appearance.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

The method of making artificial stone facing plaques comprising providing a relatively thin self-supporting stratum of unset polyester resin material and pieces of ycoarse aggregate embedded partway therein and protruding from one face thereof with spaces between the protruding portions, setting the material, applying a mixture of tine aggregate and inorganic cementitious material in `said spaces in contact with said portions and said face, setting the inorganic cementitious material, and then polish grinding the coarse and fine aggregate to a `depth to present a continuous polished surface at said tface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,486,208 Weber Mar. 11, 1924 1,586,114 Pence May 25, 1926 1,646,667 Tobin Oct. 25, 1927 1,812,134 Bragger et al June 30, 1931 1,857,856 Medina May 10, 1932 2,636,542 Humphreys Apr. 28, 1953 2,729,770 Robbins Jan. 3, 1956 2,835,996 -De Paoli May 27, 1958 2,871,152 Tobin Jan. 27, 1959 `2,951,001 Rubenstein Aug. 30, 1960 

